The best People Analytics articles of February 2018

February began in the sun of San Francisco and ended in the snow of the South of England. It’s been a month of contrasts!

As interest in and adoption of people analytics continues to rise and as the discipline continues to broaden and deepen, the range of subjects written on people analytics continues to diversify.

This month’s selection of ten articles and six podcasts covers topics including: new studies on leadership and the future of work, ethics, manager effectiveness, organisational network analysis, the critical role of the analytics translator, wearables and sensors, the role of the people analytics leader and the burgeoning HR technology market amongst many others.

So without further ado, let’s crack on:

1. EVAN SINAR– People Analytics Reversal of Fortunes

Evan Sinar kicks off proceedings this month with his analysis of what at first glance appear to be counterintuitive findings from the Global Leadership Forecast 2018. The study, which is authored by DDI, The Conference Board and EY, highlights 25 findings about the state, context, and future of leadership. One of these findings on people analytics highlights a “stunning regression” from the previous study in 2014/15 with success rates dropping for every area of analytics that was compared. Whilst many organisations are undoubtedly still struggling to realise the full potential of people analytics, I'm inclined to agree with Evan's view that this is "likely a case of the analytics bar rising faster than HR can leap over it". Evan’s article goes on to describe the other findings highlighted in Figure 1 specifically the analytics practices that have the highest impact on bench strength and a financial composite of revenue growth, operating margin, EBITDA, and return on equity, before highlighting the analytics practices that have the highest impact on success.

To read the other articles comprising the Top 10 People Analytics articles of February 2018, please read the full blog on LinkedIn.

The role of the People Analytics leader - Part 2: Creating organisational culture & shaping the future

The Head of People Analytics is absolutely pivotal in determining whether an organisation is able to successfully implement people analytics and create a sustainable long-term culture of data driven HR.

Arun Chidambaram has helped four Fortune 500 companies build sustainable capability in people analytics, and is widely recognised amongst peers as one of leading proponents and visionaries in the field.

In Part 1 (Questions 1-8) of this series, Arun shared his experience on the skills and capabilities you need in a people analytics team, how these evolve over time and the options in how to align the team to the business. Arun also outlined his five-step methodology for undertaking people analytics projects, which many people have since commented how helpful they found it.

THE ROLE OF THE PEOPLE ANALYTICS LEADER – PART 2: LEADING THE TEAM, CREATING ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE AND SHAPING THE FUTURE

In Part 2, Arun and I cover the following areas:

• Leading the team: An in-depth treatise on the role of the People Analytics leader including typical challenges faced, the skills and capabilities required, and the evolution of the role in line with organisational maturity and a dynamic external environment
• Developing organisational culture: Ways to make analytics part of HR and organisational DNA
• Shaping the future: A look at the future of people analytics and some of the developments we can expect to see
• Ethics and trust: The importance of transparency, ethics and data privacy in People Analytics. 

To read the whole article, please click here to read it on LinkedIn.

Analytics of the people, by the people, for the people

Yes, it’s a slightly grandiose title: it might make a few people smile; it’ll probably make many more sigh. Some may even consider it Lincolnesque(!), but the People Analytics & Future of Work (PAFOW) conference that took place on 1-2 February in San Francisco definitely deserves such a lavish title.

In my three years first attending and now co-chairing PAFOW, the conference has always stood out from the crowd as being the richest for content, shared learning and participative collaboration amongst delegates. That is down to the environment of trust and curiosity that has been created by Al Adamsen and the PAFOW team. The latest edition of PAFOW was the best yet, and every delegate I spoke to during and after the event concurred with that sentiment.

As ever, Al created a panel of speakers that represented a veritable who’s who of the people analytics space and an agenda that ably demonstrated how the field is both broadening and deepening its reach. Whereas in prior years, the focus of people analytics has very much been on creating business value, PAFOW confirmed that the emphasis is now almost as equally on creating value for the employee (hence the ostentatious title of this article!).

It is an exciting time to work in the people analytics space. Interest levels have never been so high, and with Josh Bersin revealing in his speech that 69% of large organisations now have a people analytics team, growth may finally be set to become exponential. As the perfect storm of technology, rising employee expectations and digitisation converge, so the opportunities (and challenges) facing people analytics teams become more substantial.

Figure 1 represents my synopsis of the main opportunities and challenges that were discussed at PAFOW. This is not an exclusive list as many other opportunities and challenges exist in our space, but it does represent a healthy proportion and provides a basis for summarising the key themes that emerged at PAFOW.

Please head over to LinkedIn to read the rest of Analytics of the people, by the people, for the people

Top 10 People Analytics articles of January 2018

2018 has certainly started with a bang. I had the pleasure of being co-chair of the best People Analytics & Future of Work (PAFOW) conference yet last week in San Francisco (write-up to follow next week).

As my co-chair Al Adamsen so presciently outlined in his opening to the conference, people analytics has evolved into its third iteration, whereby value is increasingly being delivered to employees. Subsequent speeches from the likes of RJ Milnor, Jeremy Welland, Jonathan Ferrar, Josh Bersin, Charlotte Nagy and Gianpaolo Barozzi reinforced this sentiment.

This demonstrates that people analytics is moving in the right direction and with Bersin by Deloitte’s recent High-Impact People Analytics study finding that 69 per cent of large organisations now have a people analytics team, the growth of the discipline shows no signs of abating.

As the use of people analytics broadens and deepens within organisations so does the amount of literature published on the field. This means that my previous strategy of collecting and curating the best articles on a bi-monthly basis is no longer enough. Henceforth, this series will appear on a monthly basis and not only gather the best articles, but the best podcasts on people analytics too.

So without further ado, here are my favourite 10 articles and 3 podcasts from January on people analytics and its role in both the future of work and the evolution of the HR function:

1. VOLKER JACOBS – The WHAT and HOW of a Digital HR Strategy

One of the reasons that interest in and adoption of people analytics is rising is its integral role in digital HR strategy. Indeed, as Volker Jacobs outlines in this excellent piece, analytics is one of the three key priorities of a digital HR strategy: i) actively manage the customer expectation of the function, ii) develop the organisation from jobs to skills based, and iii) provide people analytics insights. As Volker correctly asserts, digital HR is not simply about digitising what HR has done in the past, but is an opportunity to do things differently (and better). Volker’s model illustrates perfectly the enhancements that are needed to innovate and shift the culture of HR. Data and analytics is fundamental to this shift. This is a must-read for any HR or business leader about to or thinking of embarking on a digital HR strategy.

To read the other articles comprising the Top 10 People Analytics articles of January 2018, please read the full blog on LinkedIn.

People First: What are the key HR trends for 2018?

We’re nearly at the end of January and with the year still in its infancy optimism still abounds with regards to the likely growing impact of HR in 2018. Although as I am typing this in San Francisco in the run up to co-chairing People Analytics & Future of Work, my confidence may just be a case of jet lag combined with wishful thinking. 

So, with a cup brimming full of sanguinity here are some trends I expect to see more of in the HR space in 2018.

1. PEOPLE FIRST – FROM 'ONE SIZE FITS ALL' TO 'ONE SIZE FITS ONE'

Let’s start with what is for me the most welcome and indeed key trend. Soothsayers have long been urging HR to take a leaf out of marketing’s book and it seems that the message is finally getting through. Recognition that creating bespoke and personalised experiences for employees (and candidates) is not only good for workers but the business too is becoming common currency. This represents a radical shift from the typical ‘one-size fits all’ HR programs of the past. Companies like Cisco, IBM, Unilever and Salesforce are already doing this by combining people data with machine learning to provide personalised experiences for employees in areas such as talent acquisition, onboarding, learning and internal mobility. Many more companies are using Chatbots to enrich the employee/candidate experience (as well as to streamline HR operations). Employees expect consumer like experiences at work. Technology coupled with data enables organisations to provide these experiences. Critically the more astute companies and business leaders recognise that improving experience and better understanding employee sentiment leads to better results.

To read the rest of the predicted trends, please click here to read the full article on LinkedIn.

The role of the People Analytics leader - Part 1: Building Capability

As I’ve written before, there are a number of characteristics shared by organisations that have successfully developed and built sustainable capability in people analytics and data driven decision making in HR.

One of the characteristics shared by leading companies is the presence of an inspirational leader – the Head of People Analytics. This article by Jonathan Ferrar, which features in the 40 best HR & People Analytics articles of 2017, captures the ingredients required to be a successful people analytics leader.

A Head of People Analytics who ticks all of the boxes described by Jonathan is Arun Chidambaram, who has been working in the people analytics space for over 15 years. During this time, Arun has helped four Fortune 500 companies build sustainable capability in people analytics.

Arun is deservedly recognised by his peers as one of the leading authorities and visionaries in the space. He is regularly invited to share his insights at conferences as he did last year at People Analytics World in London (see highlights here) and People Analytics & Future of Work in Philadelphia (see pic below and highlights here).

THE ROLE OF THE PEOPLE ANALYTICS LEADER - PART 1: Building the team and growing organisational capability

I’m delighted that Arun agreed to share some of his insights in this two-part series on ‘The role of the People Analytics leader.’ Part 1 that follows covers areas such as:

• The skills and capabilities required in a people analytics team and how these evolve over time
• Different options with regards to how the team should be aligned to the business
• A methodology for undertaking people analytics projects
• Crucial milestones in developing the maturity of your team
• Key learnings and tips for success

To continue reading Part 1 of my interview with Arun, please click here to read it on LinkedIn.

The 40 best people analytics articles of 2017

I believe 2017 was a breakthrough year for people analytics. The last 12 months has seen the discipline move from the periphery towards the centre of the HR function.  

This doesn’t mean that people analytics has yet crossed the chasm of widespread adoption. The champagne remains on ice. Nevertheless, the acknowledgement that people analytics is a core component of a digital HR strategy is becoming more widely acknowledged.

Consequently interest levels in analytics continue to soar. The number of conferences on the subject has tripled in the last 18 months. Adoption levels are rising too - albeit at a more sedate trajectory. The penny seems to have dropped with executives too with Josh Bersin recently writing that “CEOs and CHROs now understand that people analytics is a vital part of running a high performing company.”

For the last four years I have collated and published a compendium of the ‘best’ articles of the preceding 12 months – see 2014, 2015 and 2016, and following are my choices for the best 40 articles of 2017.

With a couple of notable exceptions, all of the articles listed are freely available to read. Most of my choices featured in my bi-monthly round-ups, but my human fallibility means that I missed a few gems. I hope I have redressed that here.

Thank you to all the authors included. Collectively, you are helping push the discipline forward through inspiring the growing number of people interested in people analytics and data-driven HR. 

To read the full blog and see the 40 articles that were selected, you can read The 40 best people analytics articles of 2017 on LinkedIn. 

Conferences on people analytics to attend in 2018

When I last collated a list of conferences dedicated to or prominently featuring people analytics in 2016, I found 24 conferences around the world – and I remember at the time being surprised to find that many.

Fast forward two years, with 2018 in its infancy and people analytics accelerating from the periphery to the core of the HR agenda, it seems an appropriate time to provide a new summary of conferences that will take place in 2018. Perhaps a significant indicator of the growth in the interest and adoption of people analytics is the fact that I have found 75+ conferences - over three times as many as I found just 18 months ago.

Having spoken at numerous conferences across the world on people analytics in the last 18 months in cities such as Sydney, Singapore, San Francisco, New York, London, Helsinki, Moscow, Berlin, Paris, Hamburg, Oslo, Stockholm, Philadelphia and Las Vegas, I was actually not surprised to find that the number of conferences had risen to such a high figure. 

The article is split into two halves. First, I have featured the conferences where I am already confirmed to speak in 2018. Then, I have listed in chronological order the 2018 conferences that are either dedicated to people analytics or where the subject prominently features on the agenda.

To continue reading this article on LinkedIn please click here.

The role of people analytics in recruiting

A few months ago I had the privilege of speaking to close to 500 delegates at the Social Recruiting Days conference in Berlin about the role of people analytics in recruiting.

Quadriga, the conference organisers recorded my speech and have now made it available. You can watch it by clicking on the image below. 

To read the rest of this article and access the slides I used at the conference, please click here.